I’m an ex-Deben driver, who’s had to go over to the dark side and join Maritime, were cab hopping is epedemic. Just getting together a cab hopping box which I can lift easily from vehicle to vehicle day by day or week by week.
Was just wondering today’s modern vehicles are plenty big enough with lots of storage space, but if you had to put your creature comforts into an 18" by 24" box what would be on your list? 
Must haves: money
Wants: everything else
By the way its a tesco produce box that I half inched and is ideal for the job and would recommend it to anyone else doing similar work.
I find it ■■■■■■■ stupid that in this day and age companys expect you to cab hop when you are tramping especially ones the size of Maritime. I wouldn’t even apply for a job where can hopping is the norm, if tramping you have your own truck end of.
SteveBarnsleytrucker:
I find it [zb] stupid that in this day and age companys expect you to cab hop when you are tramping especially ones the size of Maritime. I wouldn’t even apply for a job where can hopping is the norm, if tramping you have your own truck end of.
They operate on 12% over manning of the fleet, so really its just away of avoiding using agency drivers for holiday and absentee cover, every new driver has to give it ago, usually 5 or 6 weeks then you get a nice new motor and a uniform. Money’s not bad, they’re just a bit rregimental in they’re aapproach and like you to keep ringing in etc.
You’ll learn. You need to read some of the threads on here if you expect a “nice new motor” in 6 weeks. You won’t have to bother keep ringing in either as they’ll be on your back all the time.
Cabbed hopped for hanbury davies and then wincanton for a good while and used to get paid from my front door to the appropriate depot then 35ppm for my car use then £75 better basic than the rest i got paid £20.00 per day extra for every day worked away from home depot (tilbury).if I ran up to Doncaster on a sunday afternoon id earn over £200 before I got in a truck.on this good and fair system you could earn very good money if you could put up with the inconvenience and we never whined about getting a motor of our own as it would have cost us a fortune.i know from speaking to maritime drivers they got very little if anything for cab hopping
Another thing I learnt with the 3 months of cab hopping is to carry your own spare taco roll as it’s a requirement with vosa and 80% of the wagons I got into didn’t (or couldn’t see one, no I don’t go routing through somebody elses wagon) have one in.
mikeshe:
You’ll learn. You need to read some of the threads on here if you expect a “nice new motor” in 6 weeks. You won’t have to bother keep ringing in either as they’ll be on your back all the time.
Even when you are eventually allocated a vehicle (up to 12 months after starting) you run the risk of losing it and returning to cab hopping, as every vehicle is purchased cash with a substantial cash discount and immediately for sale. If they get a buyer, your vehicles gone 
the long server drivers are on a bonus for cab hopping which new starts no longer get. So if one of their trucks are sold they get yours and you cab hop again
green456:
mikeshe:
You’ll learn. You need to read some of the threads on here if you expect a “nice new motor” in 6 weeks. You won’t have to bother keep ringing in either as they’ll be on your back all the time.Even when you are eventually allocated a vehicle (up to 12 months after starting) you run the risk of losing it and returning to cab hopping, as every vehicle is purchased cash with a substantial cash discount and immediately for sale. If they get a buyer, your vehicles gone
So it’s Crap all the way then
I’m not used to this idea of cab hopping. When I last did tramping (2004!) everyone got their “own truck” and you kept it/could make it yours. I never came across anyone who tramped who had different.
Appreciate it’s different times. Also appreciate that of marmite etc was say a good firm to work for you might overlook this, but not me. Having done tramping, when you’re spending 5/7ths of your life in a box the last thing you want to do is keep swapping boxes with no way of making it your own inside, schlepping your gear here there and everywhere. No thanks.
Freight Dog:
Having done
I want to do…your job:lol:I wish:lol:
I cab hopped for 6 weeks then got a 6 month old merc. I had a storage crate, a bag of clothes, and a bag of food. In the crate were:-
Bridge map
Plate, cup and cutlery
Tea/coffee
Ipad
Kitchen Roll
Toilet roll
Wash bag
Gloves
Phone Charger
Anything else can be added when you get your own motor, but I found these to be the everyday basics
green456:
mikeshe:
You’ll learn. You need to read some of the threads on here if you expect a “nice new motor” in 6 weeks. You won’t have to bother keep ringing in either as they’ll be on your back all the time.Even when you are eventually allocated a vehicle (up to 12 months after starting) you run the risk of losing it and returning to cab hopping, as every vehicle is purchased cash with a substantial cash discount and immediately for sale. If they get a buyer, your vehicles gone
Spot on.
I knew one guy who’d been working for them for over two years and this happened to him a couple of times and he was still waiting for a permanent truck so if they tell you 6 weeks, 3 months whatever…take it with a pinch of salt.
green456:
mikeshe:
You’ll learn. You need to read some of the threads on here if you expect a “nice new motor” in 6 weeks. You won’t have to bother keep ringing in either as they’ll be on your back all the time.Even when you are eventually allocated a vehicle (up to 12 months after starting) you run the risk of losing it and returning to cab hopping, as every vehicle is purchased cash with a substantial cash discount and immediately for sale. If they get a buyer, your vehicles gone
Is that why maritime have always got nearly new trucks for sale in commercial motor 
it looks like every one of their motors on the road is up for sale if its what a punter is after 
,mmmmmm thats what you just said 